Betraying Love
by Ms Musician
Summary: Based on False Moves.Ned asks Nancy to clear his new girlfriend after a theft. However, after beginning the case, the former couple realizes that a spark still remains between them. With love and betrayal, hope for the best--expect the worst.
1. Chapter 1

Nancy woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. She slowly sat up in bed and, after rubbing her eyes, glanced at the clock. Seven o'clock. Two hours of sleep. But of course you would think that would be normal for her when she was on a case—always losing sleep. But in reality, she usually got even more sleep than that—even when on a case. But she knew exactly what the issue was.

A few months ago, her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, broke up with her. She had been on a case then, trying to find the culprit—or culprits—of several dangerous jokes that were being played on the Wildcat's team. It had been a very dangerous case, and unfortunately, she had very little help—because their relationship hadn't started out well when she started the case, Ned and she hadn't exactly gotten along at all, leaving her to investigate on her own. And unfortunately, by the time she left, they had broken up.

Now, only a few days ago, Ned had come back into her life when he asked her to once again take on a case. But this time, it wasn't just any case. It was a case involving his new girlfriend.

His girlfriend, Belinda Morrison, has been accused of a serious crime. A diamond theft. A theft that occurred on national television, in front of many, many people, when the lights were turned out. It had been very risky and the culprit had to be very daring. But after meeting Belinda—even for the first time— Nancy was sure that she could be very capable of pulling something like this off. With help, of course. But who would be the second person?

Nancy had accepted the case, of course, unable to turn down anything like this. But now, she was regretting it. Seeing Ned with Belinda—and seeing Ned _happy_ with Belinda—was very painful to her for one reason.

She still loved Ned.

Nancy sighed as she quickly finished getting dressed. _Put emotions behind you for now,_ she told herself. _Putting emotions first can be very dangerous. It can effect your judgment…and can put your life at risk in situations like this._

Nancy was heading for the door when suddenly, she heard Hannah Gruen's voice from the kitchen. "Good morning."

She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Good morning, Hannah," she said.

"You'd better come eat before you go out," Hannah said. She stood directly outside of the kitchen. "I know how you are. You won't stop until the case is solved—and that means you won't be stopping for lunch."

" Hannah, I'll be fine. Really," Nancy protested. She began to turn the knob.

"Don't give me that," Hannah said. "You've been barely eating anything for the past few months. That's just not healthy. Now come in and eat."

"Fine," Nancy said, dropping her hand. It was always useless to argue with Hannah. Hannah always won. Nancy walked into the kitchen and took a seat, where a plate of French toast was set in front of her. "Thank you," Nancy said.

"You're welcome."

Nancy ate in silence, and she ate quickly. She needed to get to the Chicago Ballet Theatre—otherwise known as CBT—as soon as possible so she could get started on the case. Glancing at the clock, Nancy saw that it was already seven thirty, and it would be almost eight by the time she arrived. She was behind schedule as it was.

She arrived at CBT at fifteen minutes until eight. Because of this, when she arrived, every ballerina was already practicing. Fortunately, that meant that she should be able to snoop without any troubles.

The first place she decided to check out was the women's dressing room. She decided to attempt to find it.

CBT wasn't too big of a building, but yet it was very easy to get lost. The winding hallways were awful to go through if you didn't already know the place well. It took her several minutes before she finally found it. Pushing open the door, she put herself into detective mode and got to work.

There wasn't much in there except several gym type bags with mostly clothes in it. She began to search each one. She pulled out a wide variety of clothing. From jeans to skirts, from tank-tops to long sleeves. Then, in a few bags, she found a healthy snack of either carrots or celery for later on. And in each bag, she found at least one bottle of water.

Unfortunately, she did not find the diamond. Sighing, she made sure that everything looked as normal as possible and left.

--

She had gotten out of the dressing room just in time. Only a few moments later, girls were heading in to change. Their practicing was over. Nancy unfortunately saw Belinda and Ned together, lingering just outside the dressing room. Nancy looked away right before they kissed. A moment later, Belinda opened the door. Right before she went in, she caught Nancy's eye and sent her a sweet smile. But Nancy knew she meant it to be anything but sweet. Nancy sighed once again. Why did Belinda have to act like that? She had already succeeded in making her feel jealous. What else did she want? Shaking her head, she tried to get the emotions out of her system.

She had work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

By the end of the day, Nancy was tired and worn out. She had been able to search what seemed like every room in the entire building. But even so, she was unable to find anything at all. She had accomplished nothing. Nothing at all. And everything seemed hopeless.

She immediately headed home when the CBT building closed. She didn't even stop to eat despite the fact that it was nearly nine o'clock and she hadn't eaten in quite a while. But at that moment, all she wanted to do was collapse in bed.

When she arrived home, she found that her father had already gone to bed, but Hannah was still up. She was cleaning the kitchen. When Nancy walked in and took a seat at the table, Hannah turned and smiled at her.

"Rough day?" she asked, and Nancy nodded.

"This case seems completely hopeless," Nancy said.

Hannah looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry," she said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nancy shook her head and stood up. "Right now, I think I just want to go to sleep," she said.

"Alright. Maybe I'll see you in the morning?"

"Maybe," Nancy replied. "Depends on when I really get up. Sometimes I end up falling back asleep after the alarm goes off."

"That's not always a bad thing," Hannah said. "You need to get some sleep." She glanced at Nancy. "It'll help you think straight."

"I know," Nancy said. "I know. Good night."

"Good night," Hannah said. And with that, Nancy headed to bed.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

--

The next morning when her alarm went off at seven, she surprisingly got up without hesitation. She was in a good mood that morning, and she felt confident that she would find something—anything—that might actually help her on the case. She got dressed quickly. She was slightly relieved when she saw that Hannah was not up yet, and she was able to leave without breakfast.

When she arrived at CBT, she found that the girls were just getting ready for their ballet practice. Ned was waiting outside the dressing room, most likely waiting for Belinda. Nancy was slightly surprised, but didn't mention it to him. Instead, she put on a smile and confidently walked toward him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. And you?"

"Pretty good," he replied. He smiled. "How's the case going?"

Nancy sighed. "Not too well," she said.

Ned looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I think that I've checked a lot of the building out. But I haven't checked the costume room out yet. I should probably do that."

"Do you want me to help?" Ned asked her.

Nancy smiled. She hadn't expected that. "That'd be great," she said. "But you might have to lead the way."

"Alright," Ned said, smiling back at her. Nancy was surprised but glad that he was acting so kindly toward her. He certainly hadn't been kind during her last visit to Emerson College. But of course Nancy _was_ helping his new girlfriend out, so it was slightly harder to be mean to Nancy.

Suddenly, Ned stopped smiling. "I just remembered. I think they closed off the costume room."

"They did? Why?"

Ned shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "But it's off limits. Unless you have a way to get in, there's no way to search it."

Nancy grinned. "You know I have my ways," she said. "And I came prepared. I have my lock picking kit with me."

Ned grinned back. "Let's go."

--

A few minutes later, Nancy and Ned were standing in front of the costume room door. As Ned had said, it was locked. Now, Nancy was working quickly but carefully to get the lock off. She was determined to get in.

Ned helped her out when needed, and within a few moments, the door was unlocked. Nancy opened the door and walked in with Ned following close behind.

"So where do we start?" Ned asked her.

"I guess we just start searching all of these costumes and—" she broke off.

"—hope we find something?" Ned finished, and Nancy nodded.

"And hope we find something," she repeated. She walked over to a costume rack. "So let's get started."

For the next hour or so, the two of them searched costume after costume, going through each rack carefully. By the end of the hour, they had found nothing. But even so, Nancy had to admit that it _was_ fun. It was just like it once had been—when they had been a couple. Ned had always been there for her, always willing to help…

But things were different now. Ned was with Belinda, and Nancy knew that they were very much in love. Nancy was sure that nothing would change that. Sighing, she turned toward Ned.

"I guess that's it, then," she said.

"Yeah," he said. He sighed then managed a small smile. "But don't give up yet," he said. "You'll find something, I'm sure."

Nancy smiled back. "Thanks for the confidence, Ned," she said. "I really need that right now. Well, I guess we should go—" she began. But she cut off when she suddenly noticed a small scrap of cloth on the floor. She picked it up.

"What did you find, Nancy?" Ned asked. He walked over toward her.

"A piece of cloth," she replied. Feeling it, she could tell that it was a silk-like material, like the costumes. "I wonder what it came off of."

"I'm not sure," Ned said.

"It almost had to have come off of a costume. But maybe…" she broke off and shook her head. "This might mean something. Now we just have to find out _what._"


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Nancy got up early once again. She had lost even more sleep than usual—her first and only clue had been on her mind the entire night. Even so, she was no closer to finding out what it meant than she had been when she had first found it.

She got out of bed and quickly got dressed. After a quick argument with Hannah about breakfast, she managed to leave the house at seven fifteen exactly and arrived at CBT by seven thirty.

When she arrived there, she found the usual—ballerinas in their dressing rooms, getting ready for practice; James in his office, stressing over paper work; and Colby preparing for the practice that morning. A few ballerinas—including Belinda—were already in there warming up.

But then she found something she hadn't seen before. Ned. But this time, he wasn't in the room with Belinda. Instead, he was sitting on the floor outside of the room, staring off into space. He seemed completely oblivious of anything around him. Nancy walked over to him and sat down beside him.

"Hey," she said.

Ned looked over at her and said, "Hey."

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him. "I figured you'd be in there waiting to watch the ballet class."

Ned shook his head. "We had a fight," he said.

"Oh," Nancy said. Not wanting to push him for details, that was the only thing that she could think of to say back. But Ned continued to talk.

"We had a fight about you working on the case. Apparently, she isn't too happy about all of the time that we've been spending together. She's mad that I ever asked you to take on the case. But I told her that without your help, her entire career could be ruined." Ned shook his head again. "She just doesn't listen."

Nancy was slightly surprised, but also relieved. She never expected Belinda to actually fight with Ned—she seemed so protective of him, and fighting could lead to a breakup. But she was also relieved that for what seemed like the first time, Ned was really seeing how his girlfriend really acted.

"So how's the case going? Did you find out where that cloth came from?" Ned asked her.

Nancy shook her head and then sighed. "This case seems hopeless," she said. She leaned her head back against the wall. "Completely hopeless."

They sat in silence for a long moment until suddenly, Nancy was surprised when Ned took her hand.

"Come on," he said. He stood up.

"Where are we going?" she asked him as he pulled her up from her place on the floor.

"To sort this out," he said.

She followed Ned, knowing that she could trust him. He led her down a long hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, after turning several corners, he stopped in front of a closed door. He knocked and, when there was no answer, he walked in. When he had finally closed the door behind them, Nancy asked, "What exactly are we doing?"

"We're going to try to sort this case out," he said. "I think that if we do that, it'll be a lot easier to go along with it all."

"Okay," Nancy said, smiling a little. She liked the way Ned thought sometimes. "Where should I start?"

"Start with suspects," Ned said.

Nancy nodded and, putting herself back into detective mode, began to talk. They talked for over an hour. And by the end of their time together, Ned had managed to make Nancy feel much better about the case. And then for the first time in a long time, she felt confident.

Nancy sighed. "Well, thank you, Ned," she said. "You've helped a lot."

"Anytime," he said. He stood up. "Now all you should have to do is—"

But Ned didn't finish his sentence. At that moment, they heard a soft _click_ sound. Nancy was sure she knew what that meant. She rushed to the door. Turning the knob, she realized that her fears had come true.

They were locked in.

Ned kicked at the door in anger. Nancy sank down to the floor and sat with her back to the door.

"Why would someone want to lock us in here?" Ned was asking. "What exactly do they plan on doing?"

Nancy shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said softly. "I'm just not sure." She glanced at Ned. "There's no other way out, is there?" she asked.

Ned shook his head.

Nancy leaned her head back once again and closed her eyes. "The one time I'm not prepared," she muttered.

Ned sank down beside her. "So what do we do?" he asked her.

Nancy shook her head slowly. "There's only one thing that we _can_ do," she said. "We wait."

For the first hour of their wait, they sat there in complete silence. There were several emotions that were flooding through them both, such as anger and awkwardness. To add to their troubles, they both had their own secret urges to calm by themselves.

Another hour passed by. Finally, at the two hour mark, Ned spoke up. "So how have you been lately? Since the accident, I mean?"

Nancy shrugged. "All right," she said. "The doctor still doesn't want me doing anything _too_ dangerous. He doesn't want me hurting my arm again." She had broken her arm due to the accident. Fortunately, that had been the only long-term injury.

Ned grinned. "I'll bet he wouldn't be too happy to know what you've _really_ been up to, would he?"

Nancy grinned back. "Not at all," she said. "Not at all."

They sat in silence once again. Finally, Ned broke it. "I've missed you."

Nancy glanced at him, a bit surprised. "I've missed you, too," she admitted finally. She sighed. "But you know we can't go back to how we used to be. You're with Belinda now, and I've got Brad." Brad Eastman was her new boyfriend that she had been dating a few weeks. Even so, they weren't too serious. And after what came next, Nancy was glad that they weren't serious after all.

Because they dated for so many years, Nancy and Ned had eventually learned to finish each other's thoughts and sometimes even thought alike. Normally, that would be a wonderful thing to be that close. But now, that special gift they had caused them to do something very dangerous. Dangerous emotionally for both of them.

They leaned in, slowly at first, until their lips almost touched. Then, with only one moment's hesitation, they kissed.


	4. Chapter 4

Nancy walked into her house in a daze that evening. She was barely aware of anything at all. She was even barely aware that Hannah was greeting her. She managed to say that she wanted to be alone, and with that said, she disappeared into her room.

She collapsed in bed and just stared at the ceiling for a long, long time as she continuously thought about that day's events. From the moment she was with Ned in the hallway to the moment they were finally let out of the closet after a total of four hours when the ballerinas were taking a break. Colby had been the one to find them and unfortunately break up their moment together. But that wasn't the most important event that had happened during their time together.

Ned had kissed her. More than once. And she had kissed him back. Thinking back, she knew that because they were both taken, it wasn't a good thing to do at all. But it had happened, and nothing would change that. But it also revealed something else.

They still cared about each other.

But they were both taken. And if they were both taken, they couldn't still care for each other.

Could they?

Nancy sighed. Love was so difficult sometimes. She closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.

--

Nancy arrived late to CBT the next morning. She was hoping to avoid seeing Ned. After what happened in the costume room, she had a feeling that their conversations would be quite awkward from now on, especially if he was around Belinda.

But Ned wasn't there. Practices had already begun and Ned wasn't watching Belinda or sitting outside of the room. _They must still be fighting,_ she thought as she walked down a hallway. She hoped that she was going the correct way. She needed to find the costume room. She was sure that there was something that she was missing.

She walked down the hallway a little more and was relieved when she found it. But there was something wrong.

The padlock was gone. Someone had gotten in—and they were probably still in there. Carefully and quietly, she opened the door a little. Seeing no one, she walked in and closed the door behind her, not wanting to be seen.

She started at the same rack of clothing that she had started at the day before, checking each costume even more carefully than before. She was hoping to find a scrap from one of the costumes that had been ripped or torn off. But after going through the first rack, she found nothing.

Sighing, she went to the next one. Still nothing. Finally she went to the next one, half expecting to find a valuable clue. But she never expected what happened next.

She was about half way through the third rack of clothing when she suddenly heard the floor creak behind her. She froze. Someone was in the room with her. And that someone could be dangerous. However, before she could completely turn around, she felt a sharp pain as someone hit her with something solid and sharp. She got a glimpse of dark clothing before she slipped into darkness herself.

--

By the time Nancy very slowly began to come to, she heard someone calling her name. The voice sounded distant, but she was sure that the person was right beside her. Someone was kneeling next to her, gently holding her hand, saying her name. They sounded worried and almost frantic.

Nancy finally opened her eyes. But when she did, she couldn't believe who she saw.

" Ned," she said softly.

" Nancy," Ned said. "Thank goodness." Then, by instinct, he gently hugged her. For a long moment, they just held each other in their arms. Nancy was disappointed when he finally released her.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

Nancy nodded. She tried to stand up, but as soon as she did, pain shot through her, and she sat back down. Ned looked at her worriedly.

"Maybe you should see a doctor or someone," he said.

Nancy shook her head. "No," she said immediately. She forced herself to stand up this time, ignoring the pain. "I need to get to work. This can just be considered a minor set back."

Ned stood up, too. "Okay," Ned said finally. "Do you need help?"

Nancy shook her head again. "No," she said. "You can go if you want to watch the ballet class."

Now Ned shook his head. "We're still fighting," he said. "And now she's even said that she'd prefer me not be there. I seriously don't know why we're even together."

"Break up with her," Nancy said simply.

"We'll try to work it out," Ned said. "Now. Tell me what happened with you."

Nancy told him. And when she finished, Ned was once again shaking his head. "I can't believe someone would do that to you," he said. "Do you have any idea who it was?"

Nancy shook her head. "I wish I did," she said. "Then maybe I'd have this case solved by now. But it did tell me something. I'm obviously on to something."

"That's true," Ned said. "You usually get hurt the most when you're on to something," he added with a smile.

Nancy smiled back. "And unfortunately, that is true," she said. "And that also means that I've got to get back to work."

Ned nodded and they both walked toward the door. Then, after saying a quick goodbye, they went their separate ways.

--

Nancy knew what she needed to do next. She needed to speak to the suspects alone. However, to do that, she needed to wait until rehearsal was over, and she knew that there was no way she could ever force herself to sit in the room and watch them. Not with Belinda in there. So she went with the alternative.

She sat with Ned outside on the floor as he, too, waited for rehearsal to get over. They talked, but the topic of their kiss was not brought up. It was nothing to be proud of. It was practically cheating on their current 'significant other.' But that wasn't the worst part of it all. The worst part was that they barely felt guilty…and neither one of them truly cared.

After about an hour, the ballerinas were given a short break, giving Nancy the chance that she needed. She knew that Belinda wouldn't speak to her, so she decided to talk to Andre Bernarde—one of the three main suspects between Katya Alexdrovna and Belinda, of course. But going off of the first thing that Andre said, she was sure that he, too, would be like Belinda.

" Monsieur Bernarde?"

He turned. Nancy continued.

"My name is Nancy Drew. I'm working on the diamond theft."

"Oh, yes," he said. His French accent was heavy when he spoke. "The private eye. I'm assuming you want to accuse me of the diamond theft. Right?"

"Actually—" Nancy began, but was cut off.

"It wasn't me!" Andre burst out. "I didn't steal it. I wasn't even near either one of them when the lights went out."

" Monsieur Bernard! I just wanted to ask a few questions," Nancy said.

"Oh," he replied. He straightened up. "Well, then. What do you need?"

"Did you see or hear anything strange while on stage?" she asked him.

Andre shook his head. "No," he said. "I didn't. But that's the odd thing. You would think that if someone snuck on stage, I would hear them. But I didn't. But to me, that means one thing—the thief was either Belinda or Katya."

"Makes sense," Nancy murmured, but not loud enough for Andre to hear. "If you remember anything else—anything at all, will you please tell me?"

Andre nodded. "But I doubt I will," he added.

Nancy thanked him and walked off. _Well, that was useless,_ she thought. She sighed and walked over to where she left her purse. She stopped when she noticed that it had been unzipped. She knew that she hadn't left it like that. Slightly nervous, she picked up her purse. Inside was a folded sheet of paper. She read it.

"We're both looking for the same object. But I'm sure that you won't find it. In fact, I challenge you to a race to see which of us can find it first. Winner keeps the pin.

Signed,

The Thief


	5. Chapter 5

"You're sure that you didn't see anyone?"

It was the next afternoon, and Ned and Nancy were once again in the same office they had been locked in earlier. But this time, Ned was sitting on the edge of the desk and Nancy was pacing the floor.

"I'm positive," Nancy replied.

"You didn't see anyone tampering with your purse?" Ned asked.

Nancy shook her head. "Absolutely no one," she said with a frustrated sigh. She sank down and sat on the floor up against the door. "That's what's so frustrating. I just haven't been paying attention."

Ned glanced at her. "Don't beat yourself up over it," Ned said. "Although it would have helped the case greatly, it's just one thing that you missed."

Nancy sighed again. "That's the problem. It's not just one thing. This clue could have solved the entire case. Just like when I was knocked unconscious. If I could have gotten a better look at the person, I could have solved this case." She shook her head. "It's all just going horrible. And then there's…" she broke off there as if realizing something.

"There's what?" Ned asked her.

"There's…us. Our history of going out is ruining everything. Especially after that kiss…" Nancy broke off again.

Ned stood up and walked over to where Nancy was. He sat down beside her. They sat in silence for a long moment. "We've both made mistakes," Ned said finally. "But we've got to get over those mistakes. And as for what happened here earlier…we'll have to pretend it never happened."

When Nancy looked at Ned, she could tell that what he had just said was difficult for him to even say. Without even thinking, her first response was, "Do you still love me?"

It was a long time before Ned answered. Finally, her heart sank as he said, "I—don't."

--

Later that night, Nancy arrived home. Hannah was in the kitchen, making dinner. She smiled at Nancy as she walked in. "You're home earlier than I expected," she said.

"Something came up," Nancy said. "I had to leave."

"Oh," Hannah said. By the way that she looked at Nancy, Nancy was sure that Hannah knew that she was lying. Hannah set the timer on the oven and then took a seat across from Nancy.

Nancy knew what was coming.

"You've been really down lately," Hannah said. "I know that you always say that you're alright, but I know that you're not. What's bothering you?"

Nancy shook her head. "You don't want to know," she said softly.

"I _do_ want to know," Hannah said. "I'm really worried about you. And after that accident…I don't like the thought of you being upset."

"I _told_ you, that wasn't suicide," Nancy said. "Why would I do something like wreck my car on purpose? Or kill myself after a rediculous breakup?"

"That's not the point," Hannah said. "Now tell me what's wrong."

So Nancy told her. And for what seemed like the first time, someone was actually listening to her. And by the time she was finished, Nancy felt much, much better.


	6. Chapter 6

Hours after their discussion, Ned finally left CBT, soon after Nancy did. Belinda smiled at him as they both went their separate ways. It was the most that they ever did with each other—smile as they walked by each other. But this time, Ned didn't smile back. His mind was on other things.

In one moment, his entire life seemed to get much more complicated. From the moment that he showed up on Nancy's doorstep, his life became more complicated. Just seeing her made him realize something. Something that could ruin his relationship with Belinda.

He still cared about Nancy. But then he had messed up again when he had kissed her.

But she had kissed him back. That meant that she cared for him, too.

Didn't it?

She had asked him if he loved her, and he had finally responded 'no'. But now the real question was, _was his response true?_

--

The next day at CBT, Nancy went straight into the practice area, where a few ballerinas were already warming up. She still had one person to talk to. Most likely the most important person of all.

Katya Alexdrovna. She had been wearing the diamond at the time of the theft, which also made her another prime suspect. Nancy knew that it was important to talk to her.

She found her immediately. She was sitting in the middle of the floor, stretching, preparing for class. Nancy walked up to her and after a moment, Katya looked up. She smiled.

"Hello, dear," she said. "I didn't know you'd be here today."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Nancy asked, a bit confused.

Katya shook her head. "I just—wasn't thinking," she said. She smiled again. "Can I help you?"

"I just had a few questions about the theft," Nancy said.

"Well, you can ask, but I'm not sure if I'd be of any help," Katya said.

"Do you remember hearing anything before the lights went out?" Nancy asked.

Katya shook her head. "No," she said. "The only thing that I remember is the lights going out, and someone knocking me down. I must have fainted right before the diamond was taken. But that's all I remember."

Nancy sighed. She was disappointed, but managed to smile at Katya. "Well, thank you anyway," she said.

"Anytime," Katya said. Nancy was picking up her purse when suddenly Katya spoke up again. "You know, it's a shame that one object like that needs to cause so much trouble. I know that it must be awful for you, working all the time."

Nancy smiled a little. "Yeah," she said. _If I weren't working, I'd still be with Ned,_ she thought. "I'd better go."

"Bye."

--

That evening, Belinda arranged to meet Ned at a little café. She had said that 'they needed to talk.' Ned had agreed, of course, although he was sure what the results would be.

At seven o'clock, Ned arrived and noticed that Belinda had already been seated. She smiled at him when he sat across from her, but her smile seemed forced.

"You said we needed to talk?" Ned asked.

Belinda nodded. "About that detective of yours," she said.

"Nancy," Ned said.

"Whatever. I don't like the idea of you two spending so much time together. I'm not really comfortable about that."

"I'm trying to help her help _you_," Ned said. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I know you used to be really, really close to her," Belinda said. "I don't want that to happen again. Not while we're dating."

"Belinda—" Ned began. But suddenly Belinda's cell phone rang. She rolled her eyes when she looked at the caller ID and stood up. "I'll be right back," she said. And with that, she walked off.

Ned sat there for several minutes. Finally, he began to get a little bit worried. He left the table.

Belinda hadn't gone in the restroom—she had gone the wrong way. And she wasn't by the payphones. Ned walked outside. But as soon as he did, he heard Belinda's angry voice. Ned stayed out of sight and listened.

"I told you that I'd sell it as soon as I can." There was silence for a moment until finally, Belinda said, "What do you expect me to do?...Yes, I _know_ that she'll catch on…" There was silence again until finally, Belinda said, "Do you what you have to. That little object shouldn't cause something like that to happen, but do what you have to. I've got to go." And with that, she hung up.

Ned quickly went back to the table and only a moment after he had taken a seat, Belinda came back. She tried to smile at him. "Sorry," she said. "Just something that I had to take care of."

Ned smiled back, but his mind was once again elsewhere. Something about that conversation…there was something about it that sounded familiar. Suddenly, he realized what it was.

_Object._ That _object_ shouldn't cause something like that to happen. The note. The note had refured to the diamond as an _object._ If Belinda had been talking about what he was sure she was talking about, then that only meant one thing.

Ned stood up. "I have to go," he said. "I'm sorry."

"But what about our discussion?" Belinda asked. "We've got to figure this out."

"It's got to wait," Ned said. "Bye." And with that, he walked off.

--

Later that night, the telephone rang at the Drew's residence. Since Hannah and Mr. Drew had gone to sleep, Nancy answered it. "Hello?"

"Nancy?"

"Ned?" she asked, surprised.

"Nancy, I need to know something. In that note from the thief, they used the word _object,_ didn't they?"

"Yes," Nancy said slowly. "Ned, what's going on?"

"I think I might know one of the thieves."

--

"So there's atleast two of them," Nancy said. "That should have been fairly obvious in the first place. But you're sure that she was talking about the diamond?"

It was nearly midnight, and Nancy and Ned were both in Nancy's bedroom. Only this time, Ned was pacing the floor while Nancy sat on her bed, her mind working overtime.

"No, I'm not sure," Ned said. "But what else would she be talking about?"

"I'm not sure," Nancy said. "But now we have to find evidence. Real evidence." She sighed. "That's going to be the hard part."

"There's got to be something," Ned said. "Something that we missed."

"We'll have to look tomorrow," Nancy said. "But right now, I think that we both should go to bed. You can sleep in the guest bedroom if you want to."

Ned shook his head. "No, I can drive home. I'll be fine." He stood up. "I'll talk to you more tomorrow."

"Alright," Nancy said.

Ned was starting out the door when he suddenly remembered something. If Belinda had been talking about Nancy when she was on the telephone, Nancy might be in danger. Should he tell her?

No, he decided. Belinda surely wouldn't go that far if she was the thief. Finally, after saying one last goodbye, Ned left.

--

The next day at CBT, Ned noticed that Nancy wasn't there early. She wasn't there later on in the morning, either. Ned started to worry about her, but then assured himself that she was probably just running late. But at nine o'clock, Ned's cell phone rang. Ned walked out of the practice room and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Ned?" he heard Mr. Drew's voice say.

"Yes?" Ned replied.

"Is Nancy with you?"

A long silence followed. "No," Ned said finally. "I thought that she was with you."

"She's not here," Mr. Drew said. "She wasn't here this morning. We thought that maybe she left early, but no one has seen her."

"Have you tried calling her cell phone?" Ned asked.

"Hannah has tried several times. Someone answers, but then they hang up immediately. I think something happened to her."

More silence followed. The one thing that was going through his mind at that moment was Belinda's conversation from the night before. More to himself than to Mr. Drew, he said, "It's the second person."

"What? What are you talking about?" Mr. Drew asked.

"The second person. They've done something to her. We need to find who that second person is before…" Ned broke off.

But Mr. Drew knew what he meant. They needed to act fast if she _was_ kidnapped.

Before it was too late.


	7. Chapter 7

"What are we going to do with her?"

"I'm not sure. You got us into this mess. Now get us out."

"What are _you_ talking about? You stole the diamond in the first place! So why don't _you_ think of something else for once?"

"Would both of you _stop?_ We need to take care of the girl before she does something to ruin everything."

Those three voices were the first voices that Nancy heard when she finally came to. And when she opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was that she was no longer in her bedroom, asleep. Instead, she was sitting on a cold, hard floor in what must be a basement. She felt groggy. Very groggy. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her head. As soon as she did, memories flashed in her mind.

_She was in her bed, asleep. She had fallen asleep in her clothes after reviewing the case for nearly another hour after Ned had left. She had woken up to the sound of soft footsteps in the hallway—the creaky floor had given the person away. Nancy had opened her eyes, but, seeing no one, had tried to go back to sleep. But a moment later, someone was putting their hand tightly over her mouth. _

"_Don't scream," they hissed. "Or it'll be the last thing that you do." _

_That voice…she had recognized that voice. Andre_ _Bernarde_

_Andre had roughly gotten her out of bed. She had felt the barrel of a gun against her back as she was half pushed down the stairs, out the door, and into a car. And then… _

That was all she remembered. Andre had knocked her out with chloroform. And now, she was here, in the basement of her kidnappers.

Nancy knew that Belinda was involved with the theft—and the fact that she could be heard in the next room was all just more proof. But suddenly, Nancy realized something. She had heard _three_ voices. Who was the third?

She never had a chance to even think, for a moment later Andre walked in and held a cloth over her mouth. A moment later, she lost consciousness.

--

Mr. Drew was on the telephone all afternoon with police and detectives. At first, both police and detectives had been hesitant to help. Nancy _was_ over eighteen, and she had not been missing for twenty four hours. But after a strong argument and with Ned's 'proof', they finally agreed.

Now, the CBT building had been evacuated temporarily as detectives searched for evidence. Evidence that Nancy had failed to find.

As they searched the building, two detectives were sent to the Drew's residence to search for clues linking anyone to her disappearance.

While they were hard at work, Ned was left with nothing to do but wait. There was nothing else that he could do. But unfortunately, as he was left worried, he was also left feeling very guilty.

He was sure that something would happen to Nancy. The conversation that he overheard should have told him that. But why hadn't he told Nancy? She would have been prepared, at least. Or he could have protected her better…

Ned shook his head. There had to be something that he could do. Anything. Anything at all. But according to detectives, there wasn't. All he could do was pray for the best.

He finally took a seat on the edge of his bed. He hadn't been this worried since…since her last case. When they had been a couple. Ned closed his eyes and let memories flow through his mind.

They had fought the entire time that she had been at Emerson during her last case. They hadn't gotten along at all. And now, he was just realizing how big of a mistake that he had made.

He thought of Belinda. How she had been lying to him this entire time. And how in just one moment, she could take Nancy away from him—forever. At that very moment, Ned realized something.

_He still loved Nancy_

Ned stood up. He had to do something. He needed to help. He had gotten Nancy into trouble, and now he would get her out. And suddenly, he wanted to just hold her in his arms, kiss her, tell her that he truly _did_ love her. If something happened to her—or if she was killed—he would never have that chance, and he would never forgive himself.

He needed to save her before it was too late.

--

"When was she last seen?"

"Late last night."

"Who was with her?"

"Her—_former_ boyfriend, Ned Nickerson."

"Was she acting strangely that night?"

"She wouldn't run away, if that's what you mean."

"We're looking at all possibilities, sir."

It was later that night, and Mr. Drew was answering any questions that the detectives had. They hadn't found anything in the CBT building, and they were still in the process of searching Nancy's room. One detective had decided to make a report of anything that her father might know.

"Is there a way to reach Mr. Nickerson?"

Mr. Drew gave the detective his apartment address. The detectives thanked him. "We'll keep you informed," one of them said.

They were about to leave when suddenly, a detective came running downstairs.

"What did you find?" one of the asked immediately.

"This." The detective handed one of the others what he had found. They stared at it in shock.

It was the diamond.

--

When Nancy came to once again, she heard more screaming. She couldn't open her eyes—she was too weak at the moment to do much of anything. So she stayed there and listened to the conversation, hoping to find out who the third kidnapper was.

"What do you mean, _you lost it? _How could you lose it?" Belinda practically screamed.

"I said I was sorry! What do you expect me to do?" Nancy could hear Andre say. He sounded almost frightened.

"Be more responsible! Do you have any idea how hard it was to pull that stunt off?"

"Like it was hard for you," a third voice said. Colby! Colby was the third kidnapper. "Do you have any idea how hard it was just to climb up high above the stage without being seen? _Very_ hard. Especially when you've got nothing to catch you if you fall."

"Whatever. This argument doesn't involve you. Why don't you go check on Miss Detective in there and make sure she hasn't escaped yet. We don't want _her_ disappearing again, or we're done for good," Belinda said. Nancy heard footsteps as Colby left the room. Nancy opened her eyes just as Colby walked up to Nancy.

He smiled. "Well, well, well. Look who's finally up. I was wondering when you'd finally come to."

Nancy glared.

"Not very cheerful when you wake up, I see," he said sarcastically. "Well, we'll take care of that soon enough." Colby smiled again cruelly. "I'll be back." And with that, he left the room.

--

Ned came over around nine o'clock the next morning to find out what the detectives had found out. They had questioned him, but hadn't told him anything. Now, Mr. Drew, Hannah, and Ned were gathered around the Drew's table. Mr. Drew filled Ned in.

"How would the diamond end up in Nancy's room?" Ned asked.

"The kidnapper must have dropped it when they snuck into her room," Hannah said.

"You would think that they would leave the diamond with someone else," Ned commented. "Just for that reason."

"Maybe they aren't very trusting with each other," Mr. Drew said.

Suddenly Ned's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Ned pulled it out. New text message. He was about to put it back in his pocket, but he suddenly noticed the number.

It had come from Nancy's cell phone.

--

_Nancy could hear her kidnappers talking later that night. They weren't yelling. In fact, they were talking very softly. Most likely so Nancy wouldn't hear them. But she still managed to catch a few words, which helped her find out what they were talking about. Finally, she knew. _

_They were discussing how to kill her. _

_Unfortunately, Nancy couldn't exactly hear their plan. That meant that she wouldn't know what to expect, and that wasn't always good. _

_Their conversation suddenly ended, and a moment later, they each went their separate ways. Nancy was left with nothing to do. But suddenly, she remembered something. Her cell phone. Her eyes searched the room for it. Finally, she saw it. It was sitting on the table. Apparently, Andre had left it on the table. Yet another irresponsible thing to do. _

_If she could get the ropes off of her wrists—or even just her ankles—she could somehow get it. Then maybe she could find a way to get help. She searched the room once again with her eyes. This time for something to help her. Finally, she found something. _

_A nail. She wasn't sure why a nail was there, but it would help her. She scooted over toward it. Then, she began to rub. _

_-- _

_It took her nearly twenty minutes to get free. But eventually, she did it. She knew that she couldn't just walk out the door—_ _Belinda had locked the door right after they had all gone upstairs. And breaking a window would attract too much attention. She grabbed her cell phone off of the table and took a seat back in the corner. She then sent a message to the one person who would actually do something. _

_She sent it to Ned_

That had been hours ago. Now, Nancy was once again tied up. She had paid the consequences of her actions already once Colby had found her. The text message had been deleted from her cell phone's memory and she had been dealt with 'appropriately', as Andre had put it. Nancy only hoped that Ned had received the text message.

--

"Can you trace the message?" Ned asked.

"We can try," one detective replied. "I can't guarantee you anything, though."

"If you trace it, then you'll know where she is, won't you?" Mr. Drew asked.

The detective avoided the answer. "We'll try to do what we can," he said.

Suddenly, Hannah Gruen spoke up. "We could call her cell phone again," she said.

"No one is answering it," Ned said.

Hannah shook her head. "I know that you can trace it. It's been a technique that has worked before."

"I didn't think of that," one of the detectives said.

"How does it work?" Ned asked.

The detective explained. "If you call the cell phone, then the signal will bounce off of other cell phone towers. If you follow the pings, as they're called, you can find the location of the cell phone. And if we find the location of the cell phone—"

"—we'll know were Nancy is," Ned finished.

Mr. Drew stood up. "If it means that we can get her back, then let's do it."

The detective nodded as he, too stood up. As the two men left the room, Ned sank into a chair across from Hannah. They could only hope that it worked.

--

Nancy was sitting in the same corner that she had been in almost the entire time. Her eyes were closed as tried to think of anything but the pain she was feeling. Unfortunately, she knew that the worst was yet to come. She opened her eyes as she heard footsteps. All three kidnappers stood in front of her.

Belinda gave her that fake sweet smile of hers that Nancy hated. "Well, Nancy, I believe this will be the last time that we talk. We never meant for it to come this far, but you've forced us to do this."

It was then that Nancy noticed Colby holding a syringe in his hand. "You don't have to do this," Nancy said. "Murder would make everything worse if you're caught."

"Oh, we won't be caught," Belinda said. "We'll make sure of that. See, we've got a flight out of here soon. That's why we've got to do this now." Belinda looked at Colby and nodded at him. He took a step closer to Nancy and knelt in front of her.

"Don't worry. It will only hurt for a moment," Belinda said with a smirk.

Nancy tried to move away, but there wasn't much at all that she could do. She felt a prick in her arm as Colby injected something into her arm. A moment later, Colby stood up. Nancy almost immediately began to feel groggy. Her vision became blurry, but she could still see the smile on Colby's face. A moment later, everything went black.

--

Ned nervously paced the floor in the police station. The detectives had been working like crazy to trace that call. They were finally on to something.

Hannah was sitting in a chair, her hands clasped, as she, too, waited. An hour passed by, then another. But finally, Mr. Drew burst through the door.

"What did you find out?" Ned asked instantly.

Mr. Drew smiled a little. "We've traced it."

--

Nancy woke up ill. Very, very ill. She felt sick to her stomach; she felt groggy and pretty out of it; she was freezing cold, which told her that she had a temperature. Overall, she felt terrible. Whatever they had given her earlier had made her ill now.

She could very faintly hear voices, although she couldn't understand what they were saying. They sounded like they were in a hurry. But suddenly, she heard a door burst open suddenly, followed by yelling. Nancy had no idea as to what was happening. But she especially never expected what happened next.

Someone rushed over to her. Their hands were trembling as they untied her quickly, and they shook even more as they checked for her pulse.

"Is she alive?" she heard her father's voice say.

Silence. Finally, she heard Ned's voice as he said softly, "She is. She's alive."

"We need to get her to the hospital. I'll call right now. I'm afraid if we take her ourselves, we might not get there in time." Her father left the room.

Nancy felt Ned very gently take Nancy's hand in his. For a long moment, Ned said nothing. Finally, he spoke to her softly.

"Nancy, I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. I'm here for you if you need me." He paused. "You asked me earlier if I still loved you. I told you no, but the truth is that I never stopped. I only wish I could have told you that before it was too late."

Sirens could be heard just outside now. Ned squeezed Nancy's hand gently as paramedics rushed into the room. Just before Nancy was put on a stretcher, Ned said one last thing.

"No matter what happens, I'll always love you."


	8. Chapter 8

Everything happened fast that afternoon. Within only an hour's time, a missing person was traced, found, and taken to the hospital for immediate treatment. Three criminals were put behind bars, charged with theft, kidnapping, and attempted murder, which could very quickly be changed to a murder charge if Nancy were to die in the hospital. They all admitted to everything, of course, although Belinda had tried to sweet talk herself out of a jail sentence. Unfortunately for her, it did not work.

Now, Ned waited with Hannah Gruen in the hospital waiting room. Mr. Drew was in with Nancy in the ICU now. There was a ten minute limit and one visitor at a time rule, and it made Ned restless to not be able to see her. Ned paced the floor. It was the only thing that he could do to keep his sanity.

" Ned, have a seat," Hannah said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"I'm just worried," Ned said. He continued to pace the floor.

"The doctor said that she should be fine," Hannah said. She stood up and walked up to Ned. As she placed her hand lightly on his arm, he stopped. "She'll be fine," she repeated softly.

Ned finally sank into a chair. "I know," he said. "I just feel so—guilty. She wouldn't be here now if I hadn't asked her to work on the case."

"It's not your fault," Hannah said. "You should know that."

Before Ned could reply, Mr. Drew entered the waiting room. Ned shot out of his chair. "How is she?" he asked immediately.

"She's fine," Mr. Drew reported. "She's still very ill, but is already showing very little improvement. You can visit her if you want now."

Hannah shook her head. "I think Ned should go," she said. She managed a small smile.

"It's fine, if you want to go…" Ned began. But Hannah shook her head.

"You can go," she said. "You need to see her." She laughed a little. "You don't want to wear a hole into the floor."

Ned smiled and stood up. "Thanks," he said finally. And with that, he left the room.

--

A few minutes later, Ned was standing in front of Nancy's hospital door. It was closed, and for a moment, Ned hesitated. But finally, he knocked on the door. No one answered. He opened the door anyway and went in, closing the door silently behind him. His eyes then wondered over to Nancy's bed.

The first thing that he saw was Nancy lying motionless in the hospital bed, her head lying to one side, her eyes closed. He walked over to her bedside and gently took her limp hand, being careful of the IV. His eyes never left her beautiful face.

Most of her body was bruised, her cheeks were flushed from a temperature, and her face was pale white. But even so, oddly, she seemed peaceful. Not at all what Ned expected. Ned hadn't believed the doctors when they said that she would be all right. But now, he was changing his mind.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A doctor stood in the doorway. Ned kissed Nancy's hand gently and reluctantly let go of her hand. With one last look at her, he left the room.

--

Ned had classes the next day. Unfortunately, that meant that he'd have to drive to Emerson College that night and most likely get there around midnight or later. But that wasn't what bothered him the most. What bothered him was not being near Nancy. If something _did_ happen, he'd be two hours away.

He had considered taking off of school, but Mr. Drew had immediately said that doing so wouldn't be good for him. He would get behind. Mr. Drew had promised to call if anything happened, and Ned finally—reluctantly—agreed to go back to school.

He was back in his dorm room now, studying for a test coming up soon. He had managed to get through his classes, although his mind had been on Nancy almost the entire time. He remembered a conversation that he had had with his friend, Mike, after class.

"_Hey, Nickerson! What was up with you today? You seemed kind of…out of it. You didn't even laugh when people started messing with the substitute like they always do." _

_Ned smiled a little. "I just had my mind on other things." _

"_Yeah, I figured. I heard what happened with your girlfriend. Must be tough for you." _

_Ned shrugged. "It's fine," he said. _

_Mike had stopped Ned, then. "You're thinking about Nancy, aren't you?" he asked him. His teasing tone was gone now as he spoke seriously. _

"_Why would you think that?" Ned asked. _

"_I heard what happened with her. I heard she was in the hospital. You were thinking about her, weren't you?" _

_Ned sighed. "Yeah," he admitted finally. _

"_I thought you were over her," Mike said. _

"_So did I," Ned replied. "But apparently not." _

"_Well, if you want her, I'd get her while you still can. Don't wait to tell her, or you might just miss your chance." _

Ned had been thinking about the conversation ever since. Mike had a point— Nancy wouldn't wait forever. But if he wanted her back, he'd have to do it soon.

Suddenly, Ned's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the number. At first, he didn't recognize it. But suddenly, he realized who it was.

It was a call coming from the hospital.

He answered it quickly. "Hello?"

" Ned?"

Although the voice was hoarse and soft, he recognized Nancy's voice immediately.

"Hey," he said, slightly surprised. "You're awake."

"Yeah," Nancy said. "I haven't been for too long. But I heard I slept through your visit."

Ned could hear the smile in her voice. Something that he wanted to see so very badly. He smiled back.

"It's fine," he said. "You need the rest."

"That's what everyone says. But I'm tired of the resting. I'm not really the 'resting' type of person." She laughed a little.

"That's for sure," he said.

There was silence for a moment. Finally Nancy said, "I just wanted to tell you thank you."

"For what?" Ned asked.

"For…everything. For being there for me, for pretty much saving my life…"

"I'm just glad that you're all right. I was really worried when I first saw you. I thought for sure that…it was too late."

"Well, I'm fine thanks to you," she said softly.

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Nancy said, "I'd better go. Dad told me not to talk long because he wants me to 'rest up', as he says. If you ever feel like breaking me out of here, feel free."

Ned laughed. "I don't know about that," he said. "But maybe I'll talk to you later."

"That'd be nice," Nancy said. "And Ned?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, too."

--

Ned hung up with a smile on his face. He then turned back to his book to study more. But now, he had something else to distract him as everything that had happened within the past week or so flashed through is head.

Nancy was all right. She wasn't missing, and fortunately, she was expected to recover without any issues at all. But most of all, the one thing on his mind was her last words to him. _I love you, too._

During that time when he was left worried and afraid for her life, he had confessed that he loved her. And she had heard his confession.

Ned took a photograph out of his desk drawer. It was a picture of Nancy and him together. It had been taken shortly before their breakup. The last picture that he had of them as a couple. But even after their breakup, he had kept it with him. Now, he looked at the picture of Nancy in a new kind of way. And as he did, he realized that they could start over. Start fresh with no problems. Everything could be wonderful if they tried.

Ned set the photograph on the desk.

Their lives together would be wonderful.


End file.
